Attention to the Unseen

The New York Times reports: Even before Zohran Mamdani claimed victory in New York City’s Democratic mayoral primary, he had become a target of racist attacks from the far right. Those attacks have only intensified in the wake of his commanding performance on Tuesday, with Republican elected officials and right-wing media figures accusing him of promoting Islamic law, supporting terrorism and posing a threat to the safety of New Yorkers, especially Jews. There has been nothing subtle about it: Stephen…

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  In a fiery and deeply personal return to The Big Picture Podcast, professor Norman Finkelstein explains why Israel and its allies in the West have destroyed the international order, and how the election of a Muslim socialist in New York threatens their grip on power. Finkelstein is a political scientist and one of the world’s foremost scholars on Israel-Palestine, as well as a critic of culture and empire. He is the author of The Holocaust Industry and most recently,…

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Paul Krugman writes: I was enormously cheered by Mamdani’s victory, not because I think he’ll be a great mayor — honestly I have no idea — but because a Cuomo victory would have been deeply depressing. Why? Because it would have been an affirmation of elite impunity and lack of accountability. Cuomo is by all accounts a terrible person, and his bungled response to Covid killed people. For him to make a comeback simply because he’s part of the old…

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Quinnipiac University Poll: Nearly two-thirds of voters (64 percent) say they prefer giving most undocumented immigrants in the United States a pathway to legal status, while 31 percent say they prefer deporting most undocumented immigrants in the United States, according to a Quinnipiac (KWIN-uh-pea-ack) University national poll of registered voters released today. This is a change from roughly six months ago. In Quinnipiac University’s December 18, 2024 poll, 55 percent of voters said they preferred giving most undocumented immigrants a…

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  Zohran Mamdani won a historic race thanks to support from Jewish Americans in New York City. However, the Democratic establishment and pro-Israel hawks continue smearing him as an anti-semite. Author and professor Peter Beinart, editor of The Beinart Notebook, argues that Mamdani’s win definitively shows that the old Democratic party line on Israel, shamefully exemplified by Joe Biden’s unconditional support for Netanyahu, no longer has traction with the majority. He also says Mamdani’s win, along with the recent poll…

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  Like Zohran Mamdani, Kat Abughazaleh is a Gen-Z Democrat running against the status quo and believes the Democratic establishment must evolve and embrace Mamdani’s win to stay relevant. Bhaskar Sunkara writes: [Andrew] Cuomo’s attempt to reinvent himself in New York City politics was flawed from the outset. His candidacy was perceived by many voters as an arrogant power grab, a rehabilitation project rather than a serious commitment to addressing the city’s challenges. He neglected to engage seriously with New…

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Masha Gessen writes: In recent years, the United States has had an alarming number of antisemitic episodes, from swastika graffiti to marchers chanting “Jews will not replace us” to attacks at synagogues. But in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel, it has become increasingly difficult to separate instances of antisemitism from times when people and institutions are accused of antisemitism with little or no basis. In short order, Representative Elise Stefanik and several of her Republican…

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